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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cue · court · ground · march · mug · bay

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. ground — a position
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. cue — for pool
  8. mug — to rob
  9. court — of a king
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — a signal
  12. court — for sport
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. mug — a face
  16. court — of law
  17. march — the month
  18. ground — the earth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com